In an Instagram Stories posted on Tuesday, the influencer and author said she lives in a ‘mandatory evacuation’ zone in Sarasota
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Florida-based influencer Caroline Calloway worried some followers when she posted on Instagram Stories explaining her intention to stay put despite Hurricane Milton evacuation warnings.
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Calloway, 32, shared a video of herself at home, beginning by claiming, “I’m going to die,” noting that her home in Sarasota, Fl. is considered “zone A, mandatory evacuation.”
The Scammer author continued, “Listen, I didn’t evacuate. I can’t drive, first of all. Second of all, the airport is closed.” She also detailed how the last time she evacuated from a hurricane, she fled to her mom’s house.
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“Her whole street flooded, and we were evacuated [by the U.S. military] after three days without power and food or running water. It was very traumatic,” Calloway recalled on Instagram Stories.
“So I don’t want to evacuate to my mom’s house because the last time I did that it was the worst time ever,” concluded the writer, who relocated from New York City to Sarasota in 2023. Calloway also shared a snapshot of the view from her window, which shows glimpses of cloudy skies behind palm trees.
“A little concern I live right on the beach not gonna lie,” she captioned the Instagram Stories post.
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On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the National Hurricane Center stated that Milton is expected to “remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida.” The category 5 storm is forecasted to make landfall in the U.S. sometime late on Wednesday, Oct. 9, or early Thursday, Oct. 10, with winds gusting at over 160 mph.
Officials have already issued dire warnings about Hurricane Milton’s potentially disastrous — and fatal — impact. Speaking on CNN, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned, “If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die.”